Parent Letter
Second/Subsequent Season
Dear Parent
Enclosed you will find your child’s Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test results. These tests determine your child’s instructional level and measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year in the areas of Insert subjects testing here.>
MAP tests are unique in that they are adaptive tests your child took on a computer. That means that the test became more difficult the more questions your child answered correctly. When your child incorrectly answered a question, the test becameeasier. Therefore, your child took a test specifically created for his or her learning level. In addition, your child should have had the opportunity to learn the information presented on the test because the tests are aligned with the <district/state> curriculum.
Your child’s MAP results are reported in RIT scores. This is a different type of score than a typical test that provides a percentage correct. It is also different from many tests that provide results based on your child’s score compared to others in his or her grade. Instead, the RIT score is an equal-interval scale, like feet and inches, that is independent of grade level. As a result, we can easily measure growth in learning. This type of score increases the value of the tests as a tool to improve student learning because it enables teachers to recognize where to focus attention for your child’s learning.
MAP testing is a powerful tool for monitoring student growth over time. Attached to this letter is a document called Monitoring Growth in Student Achievement. The charts in this document show the average (mean) and middle (median) RIT scores for different grades for a typical school district. Mean growth in student achievement is also shown.
I hope you find the enclosed reports informative. If you have questions, please contact your<building principal/student’s counselor> at <phone number>.
For more information on resources for parents, access the Document Library at and download the online Parent Toolkit from our web site. Thank you for taking an active interest in your child’s education.
Sincerely